Sundberg DUI draws attention

Humboldt County 5th District Board of Supervisors candidate Ryan Sundberg pleaded no contest earlier this year to a charge of driving under the influence, the Times-Standard has learned.

An anonymous source notified the Times-Standard of the plea and Sundberg's citation on Friday -- dropping off what appeared to be court documents in the case -- and the newspaper confirmed the information through Humboldt County Superior Court records. Attempts to contact Sundberg on Friday were unsuccessful.

Sundberg said on Saturday that it was a mistake that he has taken responsibility for and one he has never hidden from his supporters. He said he has since stopped drinking alcohol entirely.

"I decided not to make that a part of my life anymore," Sundberg said.

According to court documents in the case, Sundberg was pulled over on Dec. 7, 2009, and eventually charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and a special allegation of driving with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.15 percent. The criminal complaint alleges that Sundberg's blood-alcohol content was 0.16 percent.

The documents indicate Sundberg was arrested and released on his own recognizance the same day.

Sundberg said he had been drinking at the North Coast Inn with some friends and decided to drive himself to his home about five minutes away. He said the California Highway Patrol was waiting in front of his home when he arrived.

CHP officials could not confirm Sundberg's account on Saturday, since the records office is closed on the weekend.

While court documents indicate that Sundberg signed an agreement at the scene to appear in court to answer to the charges, and then failed to show up for his Jan. 26 court date, Sundberg said his lawyer, Greg Rael, appeared for him. Court minutes indicate neither Sundberg nor Rael was present. A call to Rael's office Saturday was not returned.

According to the minutes, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson issued a $10,000 bench warrant when Sundberg failed to appear. The warrant was recalled two days later when, through his attorney Rael, Sundberg pleaded no contest to a single count of misdemeanor driving under the influence. The other count and the special allegation were dismissed.

Watson sentenced Sundberg to three years probation, according to court documents, and ordered him to attend a nine-month First Offender Alcohol Program as directed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Sundberg was also ordered to pay a $2,491 court fine.

Sundberg said he has done everything that the courts instructed him to do.

Two days after entering the no-contest plea, Sundberg announced his bid for supervisor.

Sundberg said he was surprised the information was brought to the attention of various media outlets only recently, because he has always been honest about the incident with his supporters. The documents were dropped off at other media outlets Friday, and information from the documents appeared in an online blog Friday night.

Sundberg said the move is an example of "dirty politics."

"They had to have known about this a long time, and then they wait until four days out from the election and smear me," he said. "It's not right."

Sundberg supporter current 5th District Supervisor Jill Duffy agreed. She said Sundberg had told her about his misdemeanor before she endorsed him for supervisor. She said it did affect her decision, but felt Sundberg handled the issue well.

"I appreciate that he was sincere and he understood the gravity of the situation and, in essence, he's learned his lesson. He was upfront with me about it -- a lot of people can't do that," she said.

She also questioned the media's spotlight on Sundberg's case, since the other candidates' records aren't being called into question.

"I think if you are going to hold a standard, you've got to make sure you are putting everyone up to the same," she said.